Forum Activity for @paul-certo

Beginning violinists are often given fret markings, in the form of bright colored 1/8" wide tape. Check with a music store that rents student level instruments for the tape. A lot of household tapes may be hard to remove, or leave glue behind. Masking tape is designed to be removed easily, as long as it doesn't stay on too long. Over time, it becomes very hard to remove cleanly, and leaves glue behind. If you use masking tape, remove it every few days and put a fresh piece next time you play. Stay away from duct tape, cellophane tape, electrical tape friction tape, etc. You might try the plastic static clings people use to decorate windows. I never tried it, but it might stick well enough. There's no glue on it to cause trouble.

Paul

Paul

I only made 2 dulcimers, so "favorite" may be speaking prematurely. I used cactus, 2 kinds of birds, mountains, a butterfly and a group of leaves on a vine. The leaves are the soundholes, the vine is a curved line cut only partway into the spruce top, and filled with a putty made from walnut sawdust & wood glue. They were all fun to do, but I guess the mountain and the cactus are probably my favorites. They made it onto both dulcimers, so I musts liked 'em.Paul

A couple of months ago I walked into my music room to find a picture had come off the wall and fallen onto the guitars underneath it. They were in cases, but if they were on stands, or leaning against the wall, they would have been damaged by the picture frame. If knocked over, a neck could have been broken. I keep my instruments in their cases when they aren't in my hands. I do use a stand on stage when I take breaks,or bring more than one instrument. Even my steel guitar stays in a gig bag, though I use a stand to play it. I was playing dulcimer today and Kitty decided to play string-with the leather laces I use for a dulcimer strap! If I had walked away, she might have dragged it to the floor. They ain't much, but they're paid for!

Paul

Love

OFF TOPIC discussions

All this affection, and music too! It don't get much better, unless you add a JAM SESSION to it.Paul

I haven't tried this tuning, but I already have questions. If you play noter style in DF#A tuning, your drone is a major chord, D major. This works if there are no minor chords in the song, but what happens when the song contains both major & minor chords? The third note of the chord(F#,here) defines the chord as major or minor. The I/III drone is a clear major chord. The I/IV or DA drone is an ambiguous neither major nor minor drone that can be used for either major or minor. Why? Exactly because of this ambiguity. It's neither, but contains the notes common to both. A "D" chord consists of D,F# &A. A Dm consists of D, F & A. The flatted F natural makes it a minor chord. I say flatted because the scale in D doesn't use an F natural, it uses F#, so F natural is flatted from the note that occurs in the scale. Dm doesn't belong to this key.Using DF#A tuning for chord style playing makes sense to me, as it gives you a chromatic scale, which at least in theory, lets you make all the chords you may need,if the chord notes are within reach from the melody note you need at a give point in the song. Again, I haven't yet tried this tuning, but the idea intrigues me. I may be playing with it shortly.Paul

http://savethebanjos.com/Skin%20Head%20How-To.htm Here's instructions for installing the head. Another thing you might try first is a lower tuning, especially with nylon or Nylgut strings. Aquilla makes the Nylgut strings in two variations, one is tuned to a lower key, I think it's open E. The relationship is the same as G tuning, so all the fingerings are the same, but it plays in a lower key. You can also still retune for the equivalent of the double C and modal tunings, but they will be lower also. Double C would work out to A, the G modal would be E modal. I tried Nylguts on my banjo, and liked them a lot, but I really didn't try a lot of re tuning , as I mostly play in Double C. You may find nylon stretches a lot when you change tunings, and may take a bit to stabilize in each new tuning. We have Nylguts on both of our uke'sand they sound good also.Paul

What kind of head is on it now? And how much plunk is too much? The ultimate in plunk is a natural head on a gourd. If you were looking to buy a banjo, I would suggest buying a larger than normal pot, say 12" or 13 ". The standard these days seems to be 11", but partly because a brighter sound is in vogue, especially for bluegrass players. As you already have a banjo, a new head makes more financial sense.Be aware that natural heads are affected by humidity. You may find the head needs to be tightened on rainy days, and loosened in dry weather. If left too tight during dry weather it may shrink enough to split. The synthetic heads don't have this problem as they don't absorb or release moisture. This isn't a major consideration, just something to be aware of.Last time I looked, natural heads were about $50, but they usually need to be mounted to a metal ring. I think the ring is sold separate from the hide. Somewhere on the web I saw a set of instructions for doing all this. I'll see if I bookmarked it & post it if I find it.

There are a couple of other things involved here that come from the origins of some of the oldest songs and styles of playing. Modern music is very much chord based and relies on chords for it's harmonies. But older music frequently didn't use chords for harmony. Sometimes only a single root note was used. The root would normally be the keynote of the scale the tune was played in. Instruments of the violin and guitar families, are chromatic, and can play in a variety of keys. But strummed chords are really more of a late 19th/early20th century concept. Guitars were played by plucking individual strings,and chords were not generally fingered. Violins didn't play chords either, and it's a rare thing even now. Some fiddlers played double stops, or 2 strings at once, but by necessity these were adjacent strings. If the fiddler played a melody on the E string, the A string could be used as a drone. Moving the melody to the A string made the D string available as a drone. Likewise, the melody could be moved to the D string, using the G as the drone. It's not too surprising that so many fiddle tunes are played in the keys of A,D, & G. These were the easiest notes to drone as a harmony note. And if you think about it, the D drone leaves the A melody string in the same relationship as the dulcimer in DAA tuning. At some point, dulcimers were made as 3 course instruments, allowing a two note drone harmony. I don't know if this was the original configuration, or if 2 course dulcimers existed before the 3 course models that are so common now. This may also be why dulcimers are fretted the way they are: The fiddle player is using a I drone string and a V melody string in each of the cases I cited above. Just like the standard DAA dulcimer tuning, except the dulcimer has an extra drone string. Having the melody string start on the V instead of the I gives the player a few notes below the start of the scale to "walk up" to the starting point. The same configuration as the fiddle.Incidentally, this is also why Clawhammer and Old Time banjo players use multiple tunings- each tuning is designed to allow drones for a certain key. Bluegrass players seldom use these extra tunings, as Bluegrass is a chord based music.Paul

The 6+ gives you the ionian scale in a tuning that otherwise would have the mixolydian scale. To add any other mode to the DAD tuning would require more additional frets, or a change in thinking. It's the change in thinking that is sometimes hard to explain and to convince people to adopt. If you begin your scale on a different fret, you get a different mode, but also in a different key. Tuning a string to D, you get the mix mode of D if you play the scale from the open string through the 7th fret. Playing from the 1st fret through the 8th gives you the dorian mode of the key of E. But you need to tune your drones to this new key, or tune them to notes that give you the necessary notes to play the chords for E minor dorian. The main chords would be Em, Am, and B or B7.Players using the true diatonic instrument find this the first time they attempt to play a song outside the first tuning they learn, whatever that tuning may be. Using DAD, and the 6+ fret, players don't see this quite as early, but sooner or later you will find need for these other scales. The capo will make a lot of these possible, but there are instances where that may not be a complete answer either. The fiddle tune "Over The Waterfall" uses the mix mode for the A part, and the ionian mode for the B part. Using a diatonic dulcimer, the way to play this tune is to tune DAD, or 151 in what ever key you prefer, and play the A part on the melody string, and the B part on the middle string, allowing the melody string to become a high drone. The wrinkle here is you can't play with a noter on the middle string. You could play the A part with a noter, palm it and use a finger for the B part, or play the whole song with finger instead of the noter. Or you could play chord style the whole way through. Or swithch from drones to chords.You can teach yourself anything you make your mind up to learn on a dulcimer. There is a playing style or a tuning that will do the job. This outwardly simple instrument has amazing possibilities for those who explore them. I have no doubt that I can spend the rest of my life and not run out of new things to learn. Being a slow learner. Some of you will no doubt be faster than I. The bottom line is to have fun.Paul

Sam, no license is needed to try different playing styles, other tunings, modes, or even other instruments. If some saucy little teardrop turns your head, your hourglass won't run for a lawyer. Drink deep, and enjoy. The more different things you learn, the more tools you have at your disposal. I never threw away my screwdriver when I bought a pair of pliers. We all have our musical tastes to deal with. Our spirits cry out to go where our muse leads, but my muse may not be your muse. If we cross paths, we can enjoy our time together, but none should expect each other to define our tastes for us.To paraphrase Mike Gregory, who borrowed this from someone else:"Kid, it's your dulcimer. Play it any way you like."Out of all the above, the other tunings and modes may well be the most important things to experience. The modes are somewhat confusing, but you don't necessarily have to fully understand them to use them. You do need to be in the correct tuning to use them, though things like extra frets and capos can simplify that, too. I would suggest not resorting to either of those at first. The use of other tunings has much to teach you, and knowledge is always a good thing. Playing a true diatonic dulcimer for a time will teach you the use of modes and tunings first hand. Book learning is good, but experience brings it all home. For the purpose of quick mode changes in a concert situation, a capo or an extra fret or two may be smoother, but audiences aren't so restless that re tuning between songs is a problem. The problem is really more in the mind of players than audiences. We perceive the time as much larger than it really is. And for those who sing, finding a key that is comfortable for your voice may require several keys to cover a range of songs.As you learn more things, your own playing style will emerge, and you find yourself changing the songs to suit what you like. This is what separates real playing from a machine programmed to play everything exactly as written. And gives the music life.Paul

purpose of design features on a MD

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

I'm new to the possum boards. What keeps them in your lap any better than the bare dulcimer? I have used a strap on everything I play, even my harmonica's are nearly always in a holder.The zero fret is a manufacturing shortcut, for the most part. To adjust the string height at the nut takes longer, so some makers use a zero fret. I don't mean to imply that it is to be avoided. If the maker uses it, that's fine. What I meant to express was that it was no particular advantage for the player, and not worth adding as an option at extra cost. Frequently, manufacturers ship their instruments with high action, allowing the dealer to adjust it to the preferences of the buyer. I have seen a lot of guitars and other instruments on which the dealer didn't bother to adjust the string height at the nut, leaving the purchaser with an instrument that was hard to play. Some don't have personnel to make these adjustments, and tell you to take it somewhere at your expense.These dealers should be avoided. I shouldn't have said "maker" in my original post, as the problem mostly rests with dealers who don't build instruments. A lot of good dealers are out there, ready to adjust any instrument they sell.I hope I haven't created confusion. One of my dulcimers has a zero fret, but whether there is a sound difference from that, I couldn't possibly say. There are too many differences in my 2 dulcimers to narrow it down to any one factor.Paul

purpose of design features on a MD

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

Cedar starts out mellower than spruce, but spruce mellows more as it ages. I believe spruce is considered to have a greater capacity to mellow as it ages than cedar does. I also have a cedar topped 12 string, and love the sound of it. There will be other factors that affect the sound as well. One of my dulcimers sounds a lot better played more gently, the other I can play as hard as I want and it still sounds good. There are several variables, and I really have no idea which variable is responsible to what extent. If you are able to get to a festival and play several dulcimers, you may find an instrument you can't walk away from. Maybe a road trip is in order?Paul

purpose of design features on a MD

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

The double back allows the back to vibrate more freely and allows a bit more volume. The scallopped fretboard would help in the same way by letting the top vibrate more. The scallops also allow you to use a guitar capo, if they are located under the area where you would capo each fret. So the scallops would have the same spacing pattern as the frets, at least up to the 7th fret. I'm not sure if anyone would capo above that point, but it's an option. There are a few other things builders do to increase volume, such as only allowing part of the fretboard to contact the top. Usually, the area towards the tuners is anchored to the top, and the other end of the fretboard is cut away to let the top vibrate free.The zero fret is just in front of the nut. It allows the strings to be as close to the neck at the 1st fret as it would be to other frets when you press the string down to the frets. A skilled maker can adjust the nut height so the zero fret is unnecessary, but some makers use them. I have one guitar & one dulcimer with zero frets, and others without. I wouldn't order one on purpose, if your chosen maker doesn't normally use one. It does nothing to justify the expense, unless the maker doesn't want to take the time to adjust the string height at the nut. If a builder told me he wasn't willing to make his instruments play well, I'd find another maker. On the other hand, my dulcimers were both kits. The maker of a kit has no control over the abilities, or lack of abillities, his kit will recieve. I can completely understand the use of a zero fret in a kit. It's much simpler for a hack like me to get good action without ruining 2 or 3 nuts on the way. It also makes it possible to build a kit with less nut slotting tools. Again, the home hobbyist/builder is in mind here.Binding is mostly decorative. It does seal the end grain of the wood, but I'm not sure how much need there is for it. Mine don't have it, I suspect most kit models don't.A thick heavy finish will deaden the sound of an instrument. But a proper, thin finish can shine, it depends on the product used.A short VSL will bring the frets closer together. If you have small hands, this makes it easier to play, if you use chords, or find yourself stretching to get your thumb on a fret far above your fingers. Playing noter style you might never see a problem either way. With a longer vsl, you have to tighten the strings to a higher tension to reach the same pitches. This extra tension makes the strings a bit harder to press to the frets, but with the action adjusted correctly, this shouldn't be a problem/ That goes back to the nut adjustment in the 1st question, plus the bridge height.Softer woods such as spruce and cedar are pretty much the standard for most string instrument tops, with hard woods the standard for back & sides. The best thing to do is play as many dulcimers as you can to hear how the different choices affect the sound. Maple is a brighter sounding wood than walnut, mahogany or rosewood. It really comes down to what you want your new toy to sound like. Try as many as you can, and see what you like in woods, sounds and VSL's. Take your time, there's lots of choices. You wouldn't want to miss any!Paul

Mt. Dulcimer, Guitar, % string banjo in a clawhammer & 2 finger styles, ukulele, and harmonica.Paul

Party Time coming for 700 !!

OFF TOPIC discussions

When y'all plan a party, Y'all do it UP!Paul

Party Time coming for 700 !!

OFF TOPIC discussions

I'm glad to hear that, since I musta missed the 700 shindig.Paul

If the action is OK, then give your self more time. And, as above, make sure your fingers come down straight on the strings.

Paul

Perhaps your strings are higher than they should be. They shouldn't be more than 1/8 "above the fret at the 7th fret, and progressively lower as you go towards the tuners. This can be adjusted by at many music stores.Paul

How many dulcimers do you own... lets see the lists..

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I )Sassafras teardrop, made from a Dulcimer Factory Kit. Usually tuned DAdd or DGdd
2) Spruce top,Walnut back & sides, Bass model built from a Randy Rich Kit. Currently tuned Daadd in 3 courses,with the bass string 2 octaves below the dd strings. Still trying different stringings/tunings. My younger daughter calls this one Chupacabra, because of it's size.I never name my instruments, cars, fishing tackle,etc. I did allow my wife to name our daughters and all the pets we've had over the years.Paul

cats & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

C A T Spells Popoki. This Hawaiian song also lists dogs, rats, donkeys, monkeys, boys, girls & old men. But the title says Cat, in 2 languages. Does it count twice?Paul

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I've been known to play Old Rattler , mostly on banjo, though. I did work up a dulcimer version of this horse song, Barney.

I played it once at a late jam at Buckeye Dulcimer Festival, but it didn't seem to go over too well. One comment was on the order of "What a weird song." I guess if a person never cried at Old Shep, or the end of Old Yeller, Barney might seem weird. I've never played that one in public since that night. If ya can't cry at a good tear-jerker about dogs, cats, etc, you must have a hole in your soul. Better get that looked at.Paul

Naming Dulcimers

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

There's a Rain Captain? Can we get him fired or something? We've had enough rain, and we aren't even close to The Mississippi!

Paul

Naming Dulcimers

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

That ain't no BUG, it's a CAT! I've seen those kinda critters before.

Paul

Naming Dulcimers

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I never named mine. But after learning about a mythical beast in High School Spanish classes, our younger daughter named my bass dulcimer "Chupacabra." She said it was the biggest dulcimer she ever saw, and thought the name fit. I don't see it that way, but I didn't bother to argue. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chupacabra I think she named her fiddle, too. (Dad! It's a VIOLIN!)

Paul

Lets have some fun and laughs..

OFF TOPIC discussions

Why, it's very easy to scan. I simply ask Mrs.Wanda why it won't work, and if she's busy, I wait for one of the daughters to visit, and tell me what I did wrong. Dorothy, as Wizard leaves the Emerald City in Hot Air Balloon: "Wait, come back!" Wizard: "I can't . I don't know how it works!" That's me, too.

I will accept that excuse. At least until an 8 year-old child visits. For some reason, they know all about confusters.

Paul

Lets have some fun and laughs..

OFF TOPIC discussions

With nearly 3000 members, this thread could easily be up to a couple dozen pages. Some of Y'all are hiding. I can understand if you are in the witness protection plan, or never saw the thread because you are newer members and it was buried for a good while. But it's back, Y'all are here, and there's only a small number of you hiding from the mob. Here's one of me and my younger daughter, Marianne, at a period dinner dance.

Paul

Lets have some fun and laughs..

OFF TOPIC discussions

T

There are songs about women posing as men in the service, such as Jackaroe. The idea is an old one, there are probably historical references to real instances. Extra musicians around the campfire are always welcome.

Paul

Favorite accessories to go with MD

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

These boards were used for drying animal hides. The skinned hide would be put onto the board and stretched tight until it dries. Some animals were split open at the belly and were then sewed onto the board by punching holes in each side of the cut. The wire was probably used for sewing the hide. It would have been placed with the fur side against the wood and the skin side out. Some animals were not split, but were case-skinned, so they were like a fur stocking. I don't recall which specific animals were done in which manner, or why. Dulcimer use of possum boards is much a newer idea.Paul

Favorite accessories to go with MD

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

My wife has a bag called a Ukearoo.(Not sure of the spelling) It's long enough to hang it over the back of a chair, and it holds her ukulele safely off the floor. It has velcro straps to fasten it to the chair, and to secure the uke in the bag. You might want to lengthen your bags and add the straps for the same purpose. Good for when you take a break at a jam or a gig and don't want your uke stepped on.Paul

I like the jokes idea! A little humorous banter with the audience is a good thing.Paul

Any banjo players out there?

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Excellent!Paul

Any banjo players out there?

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

BHO members are fiercely loyal to their chosen brand of banjo, if you keep in mind two things.One,that most have at least a fairly good case of BAS. Banjo Acquisition Syndrome is rampant.And two, a great number have changed heads, bridges and tone rings, sometimes even resonators,hoops and necks trying to change the sound of the banjo they're so loyal to. In some advanced cases of Banjo tinker-itis, only the case is original. But, there are worse things a person could be doing. I intend to build a gourd banjo, mostly for use at Historical Reenactments. Or maybe Histerical ones. Not until I change all the woodwork in my living room. Mrs. Wanda thinks that should take priority. Since I don't pull sheets with my Reenactment friends, I'm inclined to let the Mrs. prioritize my projects. She sang & played ukulele on a couple songs tonight with me, in front of several people. It was her first time out of the house with her uke. Not exactly a gig, but I was thrilled. Nothing like having a jam partner in the house with me.Paul

Any banjo players out there?

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

From the posts on The Banjo Hangout, it's clear that a lot of banjo players are constantly trying to change the sound of their banjos, looking for "that elusive sound." I do stuff the inside of mine, mostly to avoid waking my wife when she decides to go to bed early. Other than that, I'm more afraid of losing the sound that I bought. When I bought this banjo, I had narrowed it down to 2 models of the same make. I went back & forth a number of times, and I'm sure I could have been happy with either one. One had an 11" pot with a spun nickle overlay, and had a sparkle to the sound that was really beautiful to hear. The other had a 12" pot, without the overlay. It had a depth and richness that I found captivating. Over a 3 week period, I went back & played both several times. Every time I put the 11" down and picked up the 12", that richness reached out & grabbed me. I ended up with that one, and have never regretted it. That was 9 years ago. If the money would have been available, I might have both, but It took me several years of saving for one, 2 was not an option at the time. Who knows what the future may bring? Seems like one of any instrument isn't ever enough. I think the sparkle of that 11" might just be perfect for the 2 finger playing I've gotten more into the past couple of years. 9 years ago, I wasn't playing much 2 finger, having really gotten more into the clawhammer style. Now, I'm kinda reverting to what I played earlier. I'm fingerpicking all my toys a lot lately. Learning to express my moods by changing my playing styles.Paul

Any banjo players out there?

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

I play banjo, also. I started with guitar in '66, banjo in '68. But after starting to learn dulcimer in '90,I really got more interested in banjo again after hearing clawhammer players playing with dulcimer players. The combination just feels right to me.Paul

How did you first discover the mountain dulcimer?

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

My wife bought me a kit dulcimer for Christmas, 1989. I had read about dulcimers in the Fozfire books, and building things I could use always fascinated me. I had previously built a muzzle loading rifle to hunt with. I put the kit together by the end of January(I dated the inside of the dulcimer). Then I set about learning to play it. I bought Bonnie Carol's book "Dust Off That Dulcimer & Dance" and went at it.I've since acquired a number of books, but I still think hers was one of the best available at that time. Later I learned of a dulcimer club in our area and joined it. I am still a member, but don't get to many club sessions lately. But I still play at home, and the occasional festival.Paul